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Dear, ,

This morning, I’m sharing a podcast with you that tells a story from a year ago in my life. From Good Friday through the end of last summer 2024, I was in a long process of extricating my parents from a multi-layered crisis. I've spoken with a number of you lately in different settings, and I've heard stories about your care for aging parents and often teenagers and young adults at the same time. It's a lot. 

The work of giving care and support to extended family is both beautiful and sometimes unspeakably hard. Layers of grief are unique in each situation, in your particular family or in mine. Yet there is a universality and unavoidability of loss, because humans don’t live forever. And there are so many smaller losses even along the way. 

In the podcast, I talk about three findings: pastoral treasure, heart treasure, and future treasure. I learned a few valuable thing from this work of unearthing treasures. What I learned is probably the real treasure. I hope you’ll give it a listen. And I hope in it you will feel seen and know that you’re not facing your own family griefs, transitions, or crises alone. I'd love to know what lessons you are learning!

More Podcasts for You

Are you new to our community? Have you listened to the Three Minute Ministry Mentor podcast before? I am inviting you today to check out Episode 1: Ministry as a Practice. Our podcast is one of many resources we offer to support your practice of ministry. Here's the cool thing, episodes 1-50 (each one is only 3 min long) became the basis for the book, Pastoral Imagination: Bringing the Practice of Ministry to Life. In each episode I explore another slice of learning in practice. Not from books or lectures 🏫, but how we learn ministry while doing it! ⛪ I share stories from real ministers who are part of the research I've been doing for 16 years. 

To learn pastoral imagination takes time, mentors, learning from mistakes, getting around brick walls, embracing it all with your whole heart, and so much more. What has learning in practice been like for you? How have you learned pastoral imagination for ministry? 🌳

New episodes of the 3MMM Podcast are dropping weekly for the rest of the summer! You can subscribe at the usual places you liek to get your podcasts!

Mini Writing Retreat

Perhaps giving yourself time to write about the multi-layer crises and caregiving responsibilities you have in your life would be a way to care for yourself. Our retreat on August 15 could be just the remedy for that. Maybe you would like a daily practice of writing just a little each morning to process whatever transitions, grief, or joy is inhabiting your life at this moment? In that case, join us for August at the OG writing table! Maybe you just need to write your sermon series? We’ve got space for you too!

A Mini Writing Retreat 
especially for Women of Color

If you are a woman of color, we know that you face some additional layers of social expectation for caregiving. As Dr. Chanequa Walker-Barnes puts it in her book, Too Heavy a Yoke: Black Women and the Burden of Strength, "the strong black woman" dilemma creates an additional burden that urges black women to neglect self-care while prioritizing care for everyone else. Does this ring a bell for you? 

Whether this sounds familiar or not, I hope you will consider writing down your stories — even for your own heart and well-being. Or to share with your children and grandchildren. Perhaps you’re ready to tell some of your stories publicly? Whatever the case, we have a retreat planned especially for you. No matter what you need to write about, we have this time and space for you and we hope you’ll join us.

I’m glad to be on this journey with you, . Whether you are relaxing in a hammock, sitting beside the pool, or digging through the basements and attics of your childhood home or church, I wish you mercy, rest, and peace this summer. 

My questions for you this Monday morning: 

What treasure have you unearthed lately? Give it a long look and ask yourself... what what can I learn from this?  

Warmly,

Eileen

PS - I'm in a vocational transition myself right now, and soon I will be making the announcement I've been promising for weeks! Some changes take longer than we expect. Hang in here with me. You are going to be glad to hear about this one!

We have some exciting news to share. I know we keep saying it, but it's coming soon! Stay tuned for more details. You are going to want to celebrate with us!

Remember, , what you do and who you are matters! I believe in you, and I hope you will let me know how I can support you!

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